Northeast Frontier Railway increases number of joy ride trains in Darjeeling

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway earlier had eight joyride services between the two stations, and now it has gone up to 12 stations to meet the passenger's demand, reports ANI.

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Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), part of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), has added two additional unique joyride trains to the network, which are on the UNESCO World Heritage site list, accommodate the increased demand of tourists and passengers. On a daily round trip basis, the new joyride services are provided from Darjeeling station to Ghoom station. There used to be eight joyride services between the two stations, but that number has since increased to twelve.

Suvendhu Kumar Chaudhury, DRM, Katihar Division of Northeast Frontier Railway, said more people would be able to avail the facility with new special trains.

"Following massive demand, we have introduced two more additional joyride services from Darjeeling to Ghoom station," he said.

He said around 65,000 people travelled by train in 2016-17, and the number went up to around one lakh in 2019. In the past few months, around 30,000 people have already availed the services, he added. "It`s great for us and also for the tourists. It has proved that a large number of tourists are coming and that is why we also increased the basic facilities at New Jalpaiguri station," the official said.

(With inputs from ANI)